Indian River Lagoon & Banana River
Capt. John Kumiski
May 26, 2000
Titusville - Saltwater Fishing Report
Updated 5/26 Outstanding Catch Dept.- My son Maxx got three Mosquito Lagoon reds today, 37, 31, and 22 inches. Great work, Maxx!
Five days of tarpon fishing along the beaches of Sanibel, Captiva, and Cayo Costa islands yielded only three bites, two on the first day. I hooked a fish of about 130 pounds on a fly I had tied on a circle hook, guided by Capt. Rick DePaiva. Rick's wife Kimbra was on board. She wanted to catch a tarpon (she never has) and I wanted to get pictures of her fighting and boating it, so I handed her the rod and got my camera. Before I could shoot one frame the fish had broken off while jumping. Heartbreak. A few minutes later the second fish took the fly while coming at me and I couldn't ever get tight on him before he spit it out. The next three days found the water dirty and the fish scarce. We didn't even get a shot. Finally the last day I was there my fishermen had about twenty good shots at tarpon with both fly and live crabs. The fish did not cooperate, however. Rick's party got one hookup using a threadfin herring. That fish broke off, it never even jumped. So that's a hard luck story for you.
Yesterday I went scouting in the Mosquito Lagoon and found several schools of redfish and quite a few singles. I took Maxx out there today and he got the fish described above. We also lost four fish after hooking up. The water in the Lagoon is getting very dirty in the deeper areas. It's only a matter of time before the shallows get dirty too. That's not something I'm looking forward to.
Have a great Memorial Day holiday. Fishing is great and I love my work!
Capt. John Kumiski
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